Winter Storm 2010 Update #2

Here is your updated winter storm bulletin for the East Liverpool area from the National Weather Service:

… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST SATURDAY…

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST SATURDAY.

SNOW… HEAVY AT TIMES… WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. THE INTENSITY OF THE SNOW WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH DURING THE DAY SATURDAY… WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS BY LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE SNOW MAY BRIEFLY MIX WITH RAIN OR SLEET EARLY THIS EVENING NEAR AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70. EXPECT TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 8 TO 14 INCHES WITH LOCAL AMOUNTS TO 18 INCHES THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

ROADS WILL BECOME SNOW COVERED AND SLIPPERY. BRIDGES AND ELEVATED HIGHWAYS MAY FREEZE BEFORE OTHER ROAD SURFACES. MOTORISTS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION.

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL… KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD… AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. REPORT YOUR SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE… 1-877-633-6772.

It took me two hours to get home from work this evening. I was making slow but steady progress on Rt 30 looking at about a 75 minute drive until I got west of Hookstown and encountered stopped traffic. Not sure if there was an accident somewhere, but it was a very slow go the rest of the way. Stopped dead for several minutes twice and crept at 5-10mph the rest of the time. I would not be the least bit surprised if Hancock County authorities have closed Rt. 30 in West Virginia by now, as I considered that road boderline impassable when I came thru at 6:15pm or so. And its been a steady very heavy pocket of snow for the past hour or so. My advice to anyone in this area would quite simply be DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOUSE. My prediction 24 hours ago is almost certainly going to get outpaced if not doubled. Lets all just hope we can make it to work Monday morning. My other piece of advice is to be sensible after the storm in cleaning up. Take it easy take your time. This is a storm we’ll be talking about for years to come.

***UPDATE*** I would certainly not recommend trying to drive in the greater Pittsburgh area. For example numerous accidents has the Parkway West closed in both directions, both between the Ft. Pitt Tunnel and Parkway Center and also in the Carnegie area. What I have been seeing on the 11pm news I don’t think any road in W. PA is better than marginally passable. In other words, just stay were you are until tomorrow.